No blarney, Irish film fest hits Beverly

March 03, 2006|By Michael Phillips, Tribune arts critic

Like most other kinds, Irish filmmakers often gravitate toward American icons for inspiration. Twenty years ago, when the Isle was in the economic dumper, the film "Eat the Peach" told a story about an unemployed Irishman determined to re-create a motorcycle stunt from the Elvis Presley film "Roustabout." Now comes "Mickybo & Me," featured in the seventh annual Chicago Irish Film Festival, in which the lives of a pair of pre-teens, a Catholic and a Protestant, change for good and ill when they see "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

Still, there's more to Irish cinema than starry American influences. Through Wednesday, a variety of feature-length films and shorts will be screened at the Beverly Arts Center in the Beverly Hills/Morgan Park neighborhood, 2407 W. 111th St. (at Western Avenue); 773-445-3838 or chicagoirishfilmfestival.com.

The festival's opening night offering is based, loosely, on a lulu of a true story. "What Means Motley?" (star)(star)(star) (Ireland/Romania; John Riley and John Ketchum, 2005) derives from a 1999 Bucharest incident in which a blarney-spouting honorary consul smuggled 41 Romanians into Ireland by passing them off as an authentic Transylvanian Gypsy choir, touring the folk festival circuit. The consul was a man named Barry Mulligan. "What Means Motley?" was written and produced by the same Mulligan. The cheek!

The film takes a while to hit its stride--some of the directorial and editing techniques are self-consciously "now" and "watch me!" and really: Doesn't that Guy Ritchie have a lot to answer for? Playing a fanciful version of himself, Mulligan mugs and sometimes strains to please. Yet it's a tall tale with real momentum and an appealing cast of supporting characters. "I think Irish people appreciate this," Mulligan told the Guardian newspaper, "because it reminds us of the scams we tried to get into the U.S." 8:30 p.m. Fri.; shown with the shorts "Family Tree" and "Bare." Reception begins at 7 p.m. with music by The Boys of Connemara.

`Mickybo & Me' (star)(star)1/2 (Ireland; Terry Loane, 2005) The Butch-and-Sundance-loving duo who star in this sprang from a stage play. On screen the wee charming John Joe McNeill and Niall Wright play young Belfast lads who become unlikely friends, creating for themselves a world of perpetual motion and dangerous illusion, while real bombs and dead bodies litter the streets. The cast is a fine one: Julie Walters, Ciaran Hinds, Adrian Dunbar and Gina McKee play the boys' parents, sweating it out when the lads follow their visions of Paul Newman and Robert Redford and the open road. It's uneasy in its comic and dramatic mood swings. Still, you may be charmed. 7:30 p.m. Sat., shown with the shorts "Tilly and the Teeth" and "Faery Wind."

Some of the fest's short subjects:

`Bare' (star)(star)(star) Woe to the lass whose boyfriend's love poems come true. Eyes like shimmering ponds, a button nose, even cherry lips can be afflicting in a Claymation world. And a tryst can leave a young lady exposed to certain hazards after escaping her verse-induced porcelain skin--the title explains that specific hazard. No MPAA rating (full-frontal Claymation nudity). 0:05.--Michael Esposito

`Tilly & the Teeth' (star)(star) This silly short seems more an idea than a story. Tilly catches stepmom stealing baby teeth from under her pillow--she must be deep in the illegal tooth trade. Tilly steals back a box of her baby teeth and sells them to classmates--until the angry Tooth Fairy shows up, and the fur flies. No MPAA rating (some language, pet death, threatened torture). 0:11.--M.E.

`Fiorghael' (star)(star)(star) Here's a head start and a clue: The title means "Ultra Irish" in the country's native language, and knowing that is just the beginning of the point of this amusing short film. No MPAA rating (nasty gossip throughout). 0:09. --Maureen Hart